Snowshoe harness



Feb. 18, 1930. U, BATES 1,747,213

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12 a, 17 J22 51 LIQ 20 I MENTDIY Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES MICHAEL URBAN BATES, OF METAGAMA, ONTARIO, CANADA SNOWSHOE Application filed March 9, 1929, Serial No.

This invention relates to improvements in snowshoe harness and the objects of the invention are to provide simply constructed and durable harness for attaching the snowshoes to the feet.

One object of the invention is to provide a snowshoe harness that will permit walking on the snowshoes as easy and natural as walking with the ordinary boot and which can be readily adjusted to any required size.

The invention consists in providing a suitable harness for attaching snowshoes to the feet formed with three separate loops on each side at the hinge between the toe cap and where the harness is attached to the snowshoe whereby a wider range of adjustment of the harness according to different sizes of boots and different designs of snowshoes is more readily accomplished.

With the foregoing and other objects hereinafter more fully referred to in View, reference is now had to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure and in which Figure 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the harness attached to a fragmentary portion of a snowshoe.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail of the multiple loops forming the hinge.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which an example of the invention is disclosed, the harness comprises a plurality of leather straps and buckles in combination with lamp wicking or other soft material and consists of a toe strap 10 doubled on itself to form loops 12 and-.13 at opposite ends, the loose ends of'the strap being ad justably connected substantially midway by a buckle 1 1. This toe strap is adapted to extend through spaced slots 15 formed in a toe cap member 16.

It will thus be seen that two loops 12 and 13 are formed by the toe strap one on each side of the toe cap 16.

In engagement with the loops 12 and 13 are loops 17 and 18 formed of lamp wicking or other suitable material. The loops 17 and 18 engage with the snowshoe as at 19 (see HARNESS 345,690, and in Canada October 16, 1928.

Figures 1 and 3) and also engage with the loops 20 and 21 on the ends of the foot strap 22, the loose ends of which are adjustably connected by a buckle 23. This foot strap 22 is provided with an instep strap 24 adjustable through the buckle 25 and holes 26 in the strap and looped at each end as at 27 to engage with the aforementioned foot strap 22.

It will thus be seen that the toe strap carrying the toe cap, the, foot strap, and the snowshoe are hingedly connected on each side through three separate loops ;that both straps are adjustable, and that the supporting or instep strap 24, which prevents the foot strap 22 from falling below a predetermined point on the foot and thus disengaging with it, is also adjustable. On the inside of the foot strap 22 are a series of small holes 28 for the purpose of attaching the instep strap '24: thereto. After its proper adjustment is found, a piece of twine or any other suitable material may be used and once passed through the hole 29 in the loops 27 and the holes 28 in the foot strap, no further adjustment ofthe instep strap is necessary. To facilitate the cutting of a third or fourth slit in the toe cap two small holes 30 are punched in the toe cap 16 to accommodate it to a childs or other small size foot.

In operation and to attach the harness to the shoe the toe cap 16 being first placed on the toe strap 10, the latter and the foot strap 22 are placed in position on the snowshoe, the loops 20 and 21 of the foot strap almost touching the loops 12 and 13 of the toe strap. The flexible material such as lamp wicking is then taken to form the third loops 17 and 18.

To do this, start from the bottom side of the snowshoe, pass one end of the wicking up through the hole 31 provided in the snowshoe for this purpose, then pass this end through the loop 20, next through the loop 12 on the toe strap, next around and up through the same hole 31 in the snowshoe and through the same loops 20 and 12 again, and tie both ends ahead of the loop 17 as at 32 (see Figures 1 and 2).

It is important that the knot in the loop 17 is ahead of the toe strap and not behind it nor behind the loop 20 in the foot strap in which case it would interfere with the proper working of the harness.

W'hen tied, the loose ends of the material forming the loops 17 and 18 are folded back through the loops 12 and 13 of the toe strap.

lWith the harness thus attached the putting on of the snowshoe is a very simple matter. The toe of the moccasin or rubber is forced into the toe strap 10 until it is about half way across the toe-hole or opening 33 in the snowshoe. The toe strap is then tightened until proper adjustment is obtained. The foot strap is next buckled and the snowshoe is then on. The instep strap 24 should be left loose enough to allow the foot strap 22 to which it is attached to rest well down on the sides of the footbut not below the foot.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention, within the scope of the claims, constructed without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is l. Snowshoe harness comprising a single continuous adjustable toe strap having loops at each end and a movable toe cap intermediate thereof, an adjustable foot strap with loops at each end, and loops of flexible material engaging with the aforementioned straps and with the snowshoe to form a hinged joint.

2. Snowshoe harness comprising a single continuous adjustable toe strap having loops at each end and a movable toe cap intermediate thereof, an adjustable foot strap with loops at each end, loops of flexible material engaging with the aforementioned straps and with the snowshoe to form a hinged joint, an adjustable instep strap co-operating with the foot strap and longitudinally adjustable relative thereto.

3. The combination with a snowshoe having spaced holes therein, of a single continuous adjustable toe strap formed with loops at opposite ends thereof, an adjustable foot strap with looped ends, an adjustable instep strap, and a loop or link of flexible material extending through the holes in the snowshoe and through a looped end of the toe strap and a looped end of the foot strap toform a three looped hinged joint.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which the third loop member is formed of flexible material and adapted to be tied with a knot arranged ahead of the looped end of the toe strap.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MICHAEL URBAN BATES. 

